The Concept of No Self

Posted: March 27th, 2020

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

The Concept of No Self

            Anatta is one of the most important concepts in Buddhism. The doctrine is among the few distinguishing factors of Buddhism from other religions such as Jainism and Hinduism. The dogma has its primary premise on the absence of self. Therefore, it represents everything that exists outside an individual. Buddha had teachings on the insufficiency of external souls in beings. In particular, he thought that the external self was just a construct of the mind. The concept of Anatta is an appealing concept that provides a person who is experiencing emotional or mental trauma with an avenue of therapeutic relief.

            According to Buddha, no soul was present in the world. The only existence that made sense to Buddha was the physical being because it was tangible and subject to changes such as aging and withering. Buddha discouraged the perception of a God a person cannot see or touch. He encouraged individuals to accept their immediate situation without attributing occurrences to external factors. Therefore, the philosophy espoused by the absence of self is that everything is temporary, and even suffering will subside with time.

            The philosophy of anatta calls for the presence of the moment. From my experience, the meditation is helpful in achieving total relaxation. Additionally, it helps me to alleviate some of the tension that I am experiencing at any moment in time. I have gone through some tough situations, but I have not utilized the mediation experience. I think it would be helpful to try the concept at times of grief. Replaying the problematic emotional scenarios is useful to accept the situation, and to enable an individual to move on from the ordeal. However, it is difficult to detach oneself from the current situation. An individual is inclined to dwell on the present, and it is hard to move on to another meditation space.